A FOD Plod with God

(Feeding a multitude and finding faith)

Sermon for 9th Sunday after Trinity – 28 July 2024 – St John the Baptist, Felixstowe 

Text: from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6v13)

God give you peace my sisters and brothers.

[NOTE: The sermon begins with a conversation between the preacher and Sergeant Frazer Lack one of the Altar Servers]

Sergeant Lack, what is FOD?

[Frazer explains what FOD is]

What is a FOD Plod Sergeant Lack?

[Frazer explains what a FOD Plod is]

Sergeant Lack, what happens to FOD if it has not been plodded?

[Frazer explains what happens when FOD is not plodded and then returns to his seat with the other servers.]

The Royal International Air  Tattoo (RIAT), enabled by Air Cadets from all over the United Kingdom, ends with a sore feet and achy shoulder day as 850 cadets slowly progress along the taxiways of RAF Fairford to clear the airfield for take-off and pick up a week’s worth of FOD.  Once they are finished they are given the unique reward of free seating in the Grandstands watching all the aircraft and display teams from the Tattoo take off directly in front of them.

FOD is not just the preserve of RAF Air Cadets though.  Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus’s disciples also went on a FOD Plod;

When [the crowd] were satisfied, Jesus told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6v12-13)

However the FOD picked up by the disciples was not caused by the careless littering of over-enthusiastic aeroplane spotters but instead was proof of the overwhelming generosity of God.  Twelve baskets full of excess provision!

The similarities between the disciples and Air Cadets on a FOD Plod does not end there though.

As with the disciples in the story managing a multitude, organising 850 Air Cadets and 150 Staff also requires a Philip and an Andrew – and before I go further I’d just like to mention that any connection between any Philips or Andrews in the Ministry Team of the Parish of Felixstowe is purely coincidental…. 😉

On camp at RIAT there were the Philips – those who reminded us constantly that our brand-new tents and radios and other kit cost £1.8 million.  Like their fisherman namesake they were the slightly cautious ones wondering if even 200 Denarii would cover all the needs of a multitude of eager and hungry teenagers.

Then there were the Andrews – those who filled my campervan to overflowing with Cup-a-Soup for the Parish Pantry, branded clothing for the Seafarers who visit Felixstowe, and warm jackets for the homeless.  These were the ones who spent themselves making cups of tea for tired Padrés and handed out free lollypops to over-heated cadets

We, as we go on our own FOD Plod with God, may find ourselves to be a Philip or an Andrew.

Whether we find ourselves to be a cautious, care-full, caring Philip or a ‘Have-a-Go’ Andrew in our following the way of God (and heaven knows the Church does not need a whole load of over-excited Andrews running around all over the place!) we will find God smiles on us.  

(Nonetheless, from personal experience I can reveal that Andrews have more fun😃)

Come December I will, God willing, have been ordained for 40 years and if there is one thing that our family has learnt in the 42 years since Lesley-Anne and I gave up all our worldly possessions and went to live in a Seminary in Imbali Township near Pietermaritzburg it is this, ‘God’s got this’.  God’s got the mess we find ourselves in, God’s got the emptiness that surrounds us and our world, God’s got a plan to satisfy all the hungers of everyone.  All we need to do to make miracles happen is to give God the room to work.

And God will do this whether it is with a budget of £1.8 million, 200 Denarii, or just a young boy’s bag meal.  All that God asks of us, be we a Philip, or an Andrew, or an unnamed young boy (the real hero of the story) is to learn simply this:

If you give

what you’ve got,

You’ll receive

what you need

And having done that all we need do is sit back, smile, and then gird our loins to go on another FOD Plod with God in search of miracles.

Come with me!

This blog  ‘A FOD Plod with God’ is copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2024.  It may be reproduced free of charge on condition that the source is acknowledged.

Feeding the Five Thousand (John 6 v 1-21)

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Water

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.